Life lately and starting a vlog

I started the year with a new found hobby which is uhm taking clips of my day to day and compiling them into a montage. Also known as vlogging lol, I've been on it since the penultimate day of the previous year, hence it's my second week of doing it!

So far so good? I'm surprised at how quick and easy it is to do. No wonder so many people has jumped to it. Unlike blogging which requires a lot of thinking and writing, vlogging needs less brainwork (no offense). Just take clips of what you feel could highlight the moment. It's so simple. And by the end of the day, it only takes me less than an hour to edit and upload. Everything is done through my mobile phone so no more setting up the laptop to write lengthy accounts of how boring my day went haha. 

Yeah, so my days are still mostly boring and monotonous, but it isn't so bad. I've set up a channel at Youtube, namely *guess what* The Blahger and I invite you guys to view my vlogs if you can! Like and subscribe if you want, not forcing anyone here hahahaha, though I need a hundred subs to get a custom URL at least... so please... help this ghorl out? :D

Here's my latest by the way:

Not saying I'll quit blogging. In fact, I think it'll be easier for me to blog with the aid of my vlogs?! 

So what's up?

First work week of the year was boring. Nothing much. I guess the highlight for me, which I couldn't film because it's work related, was getting my performance rating and knowing how much bonus I'll receive on the next payday. I got a very cute increase haha and a bonus amount I didn't expect so yayyyyy. 

Our weekends are pretty much the same. On Saturdays we go to the grocery, sometimes we head to my parents, then on Sundays we meet up with my in-laws then play badminton after.

Which is where I got my knee injury. Last Sunday while playing, I accidentally twisted my knee chasing a long shot. I fell on my butt and couldn't move my right leg. It was darn painful. I dragged myself out of the court, put some ice and waited for it to feel better. I could barely walk but it isn't so intense in a way that I was still able to eat dinner with the family and lounge a bit lol.

Before heading home we went to the ER to have it checked. It was my first time at The Medical City Ortigas and wow it's the best hospital experience I've had so far. ER trips usually take me 3-4 hours, but at TMC I didn't have to wait 30 minutes after triage. I was sent to the doctor immediately, had an X-ray, was prescribed NSAIDS, and was discharged in under 2 hours. Amazing.

Now I know where to go for emergencies. Thank God my condition wasn't so bad. No fracture, just some contusion that will heal over time. I've taken some time off at work to rest at home. Hopefully my knee heals soonest so that I can walk properly na! Sobrang hassle nito huhu

Hope you're having a fine day. :)

2019 Wrapped

I don't have much to say about 2019. It was quite a steady year for us. The only life changing thing that happened was on January, when one of our biggest investments went down the drain. My parents suffered greatly, and even until now they're still recovering. Me and my husband also took some time to move on from it. But then that's it.

I guess that's the highlight?!?

Wow ang negative naman! Hahaha Pero seriously! I don't think I have anything good to remember 2019 by. It was an okay year, personally. Yun nga, steady lang. I also think it's a financially bad year for us. It already hit us right at the start, and it kinda set the tone for the rest of the year. All our investments look bleak, and I'm out of sidelines haha.

Okay wait let me look at the archives to see if there's anything remotely positive about the year that was...

• In January
• We lost a major investment
• In February
• Flew to Singapore to attend Planit's recruitment roadshow
• Enjoyed Singapore immensely! (Read our SG Diary here)
• In March
• Regrets from Planit (was put on waitlist)
• Attended RPA Philippines Summit
• No water for a week
• In April
• Staycation at Marco Polo Hotel Ortigas
• In July
• Celebrated my parent's anniv at Kasa Luntian, Tagaytay
• Family summer outing at Nagusbu, Batangas
• In August
• Tried going to the gym lol
• In September
• Celebrated our 2nd anniversary at BGC
• Team building at Nasugbu, Batangas
• In October
• Finally experienced Taytay tiangge
• Tried Angkas
• In November
• Celebrated my birthday at Baguio
• Re-investing in skin care
• In December
• Got news of delayed DV Boer Paiwi payouts
• Saved 15,000 pesos from keeping all my 50 notes

So yon. It's a mix of both good and bad, but nothing extreme. Keri lang talaga tong 2019 haha. But overall it's definitely a happy year. :)

So what's up this year?

Oh I don't really know haha. Praying for the best. :)

[Review] Big Skinny Panther Clutch Red

Reviewing my second Big Skinny! After just 10 months of usage, my Monte Cougar Red's coin compartment zipper broke and while it can be repaired, the repair guys suggested against it because it will ruin the fabric. So I decided to just get a new one. Of course, still with Big Skinny because I can't do without their magic anymore hehe.

Not gonna do a side by side comparison of my old and new wallet because they're both Big Skinnies (??) naman. So I'll just go ahead and do pros and cons. If you want a side by side comparison with a non-Big Skinny wallet, My Monte Cougar Red review will show you that!

I ordered my Panther Clutch during the height of 11-11 sale. They offered discounts on the website plus free shipping so instead of paying the regular ₱2350, I only paid ₱1998. Not bad!

Pros:

• Fits my 6.1inch phone (though it's bulky)
• Has 2 separate bill compartments
• Has a zippered coin compartment
• Pretty lipstick red color
• No Big Skinny logo outside hehe
• Made from washable nylon microfiber fabric

Cons:

• Only has 8 card slots unlike the Monte Cougar which has 10 (you can stack 3 cards per slot but it would be a hassle to fish out if all the slots are full!)
• Doesn't fit a check (unless you fold it)

That's it'! There's a lot to love about this wallet. And if I may add, it was a delight transacting with Big Skinny Philippines. They were very responsive and patient in answering all my concerns like what's the size difference between the Monte Cougar and and Panther clutch, how different are the two reds, can you send pictures blah blah blah. They even accommodated my request to get side by side pictures of the two red wallets I was comparing.

Seeeee? ♡

If you want to update your wallet to something more basic and functional, go for Big Skinny. 

Order from Big Skinny Philippines

www.facebook.com/bigskinnyphilippines
www.bigskinny.ph

Is Food Medicine?

Nutrition science is an incredibly young discipline. The idea that we could tackle some of our most dangerous modern diseases, like heart disease, stroke, and cancer, only really began to gain traction in the 1970s, and even then, people didn’t take the idea particularly seriously. Sure, eating right was good for overall health, but it couldn’t make THAT much of a difference. As the years wore on and the science developed, a clear pattern emerged. The more people ate a certain kind of diet high in nutrients and low in junk, the longer and healthier they lived. What’s more, they had an uncanny knack to avoid the diseases of aging - conditions that the modern medical establishment still can’t really do much about.

Photo from Pixabay

Food is a kind of medicine if you use it right. There are all kinds of cancer-fighting foods that research reveals helps to improve symptoms in vivo and in vitro. In some cases, the effect of lifestyle change is so profound that it can REVERSE conditions like prostate cancer. Researcher Dean Ornish, for instance, found that when he fed men with prostate cancer a diet high in fruits and vegetables, their tumors actually shrank over the twelve months of the study. Some patients went into full remission. 

The Long-Term Effects Of Food

The medical community is fighting back against Hippocrates’ notion that food is a kind of medicine. The common retort is “food is just food,” and anyone who says that you can heal our biggest killers is a quack. 

Photo from Pixabay

The problem with this view is that we now have a mountain of evidence from a large number of researchers that food really can heal the body over the long-term.

What’s more, the epidemiological studies from the places where people live the longest all seem to point to a healthy diet as a significant contributing factor. None of these areas eat a diet high in animal products. Most live on simple plant foods grown in local soil. When you eat lots of beans, greens, fruits, and seeds over the long term, it appears to change the body in fundamental ways, making it more resistant to the ravages of aging over time.

Don’t Rely On Food For All Ailments

There are situations, however, when food is not enough to protect you against illness, and you need medical intervention.

Antibiotics are a good example. While what you eat will help make you more robust against bacterial infection, it can’t protect you entirely. Occasionally, some nasty pathogens will overwhelm your defenses, giving you no choice but to go along to the doctors.

The same applies to autoimmune conditions. While changing your diet can help, the only proven effective intervention are conventional pharmaceutical drugs.

Food has its limits, but it has also been neglected terribly. There are now numerous studies that show that changing your overall dietary pattern to eat more whole plant foods can help enormously in reducing the chances that you’ll fall seriously ill. Use food as a powerful intervention and concentrate on eating the healthiest varieties out there.

[Review] Dibea D18 Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner

I've been gushing over Dyson stick vacuums for so long but I don't think I'll ever be in a state where I could indulge myself with a ₱40k vacuum cleaner. So I took it to the internet to look for good alternatives and chanced upon the brand Dibea. They offer a couple of stick vacuum models that looks almost the same with Dyson, but for a much lower price point.

I got myself a Dibea D18 Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner from Lazada for roughly ₱7,000. The basic kit retails for around ₱6,000 only but this particular package included a Dust Mites Suction Head attachment which is used for cleaning mattresses and sofas. Apart from its price point, it's also fueled with good reviews both on Lazada and Amazon. And for those reasons I went ahead with the purchase!

I'm not sure what the best format would be for this kind of review so I'll just try to explain things FAQ style.

How much does it cost and where did you buy it?

Again, Lazada Philippines for ₱7,000. The item came from China and it arrived in 7 days. Here's a link to the Lazada listing: https://www.lazada.com.ph/products/dibea-d18-lightweight-cordless-handheld-stick-vacuum-cleaner-with-motorized-brush-intl-i234515741-s316948496.html

Specs and important features?

Specs:
✦ Machine wattage: 120W
✦ Battery: 2200mAH built-in Li-ion battery
✦ Charging time: 4-5hours
✦ Dust tank capacity: 550ml
✦ Suction: 4000 Pa (low mode), 9000 Pa (high mode)
✦ Run time: 45 mins (low mode), 25 mins (high mode)
✦ Noise: 75dB

Features:
✔ Cordless
✔ Rechargeable
✔ Two-speed control (low mode and high mode)
✔ Motorized floor brush with LED lights
✔ Can be used on hard flooring and short hair carpet
✔ Washable filters
✔ Hanging rack included
✔ One-push dust disposal

So what's in the box?

The basic set consists of those in yellow labels. I just bought a dust mites suction brush head and an additional round mesh cotton filter (in pink). 

All the items were wrapped in plastic and are enclosed in protective styrofoam. None of the parts arrived damaged. Yehey! It's my first time ordering a household appliance online and from China pa so I was afraid I'd have to ship it back for broken parts or complain about missing components. Thank God the package arrived safe and sound! 

What I love so far

Fast delivery
I placed an order on August 6, 2019 and it arrived exactly seven days after, August 13. I thought I'd give it a few weeks before writing a review but I guess I'm close to forgetting about it so three months later is just about the right time to properly review it, right?

Hassle free cleaning

The first few weeks with the vacuum have been a delight. I was using it almost daily, amazed at how easy it made cleaning the floor for me. I just have to grab it from the wall and and start vacuuming!

The switch allows you to alternate between two suction speeds, low and high. Another press turns off the vacuum.

No need to set up the power cord and assemble everything, like I used to with my old vacuum. My Dibea sits idly when not in use, and I didn't need to dismantle it when I'm done. I just prop it against the wall. Love it!

One push dust disposal

Well, yeah. With one push the bottom of the dust bin opens up, allowing all the dust to fall off. But it doesn't empty completely. I find that there's still some dust left sticking on the side of the filter. But no worries because it can be easily removed by tapping the filter or reaching into it with something like a brush.

Washable filter components

The dust cup can be completely disassembled and you can wash the filter, filter case, and the round cotton mesh (encircled in red) with soap and water. 

Don't wash the electric machinery, of course, for obvious reasons hehe. 

And for the dust bin? I just wipe it with a wet cloth and let it dry. I'm careful to not soak it because the nose that attaches to the metal tube has some wiring in it.

Easy charging

Once connected to the charging port, it will blink to indicate that it's charging. 3 bars and it's fully charged, and it takes about 4-4.5 hours to complete charging. 

The attachments lock in place

No need to worry about the accessories becoming loose over time because Dibea employs joint locks (the red buttons on each joint) that uhm, locks the parts together with a click haha yeyy.

The electric dust mites suction brush head

Or the fine dust brush head... that's the shortest it can get haha. This was the first attachment I tried after unboxing because I wanted to see how much dust it can get while the dust bin is still empty.

And my, was I impressed! This is how the attachment looks.

It's meant to be used on sofa or bed cushions and it's supposed to lift off fine dust and even mites from the surface. I tried it on a sofa cushion and here's what I got.

Fine dust indeed!

What I don't like...

The LED lights on the motorized floor brush isn't that bright

But it's fine, considering it's just a bonus and it's not like I vacuum in complete darkness lol. And if I do get under the bed or the couch, I make sure to cover everything anyway.

Navigating it around takes some getting used to

Oh yes it does. With the motorized brush head, it's difficult to lift the vacuum and place it elsewhere, like I usually do with my corded vacuum. I had to learn to really push it to places and avoid lifting it haha. But at this point I can say it's not an issue anymore. It's just a phase maybe when you're transitioning from corded to cordless vacuum hahaha (may transition phase?!). Most cordless vacuums have motorized brush heads to compensate for the low suction power, and it does help get more dirt without relying on suction alone.

No local supplier

Which means you have to purchase spare parts from China through Lazada or Shopee. The good thing is, for this particular model (the Dibea D18), spare parts abound online.

Non-removable battery

So in case you've used up the entire charging cycle of this thing, you'd have to purchase the whole hand grip attachment because the battery is inside.

Lower suction power

Which is totally expected. I still keep my old corded vacuum because it's way stronger and I might need it someday, but I haven't used it since I bought this soooo.

Anyway.

Not for big spaces

Obviously 'cos you can only clean so much in the ~20 minutes it's up (low mode). Luckily, we live in a small one bedroom unit and it doesn't even take me 5 minutes to sweep the floor with this one! :)


That's it! Overall I'm very happy with my purchase! 9/10 would recommend! What do you think of this vacuum?

Airbnb stay: Our Forbeswood Parklane BGC staycation

Before this gets buried too deep in my drafts, here's an account of our latest AirBnb stay! We spent 2 nights at this cozy one-bedroom unit in BGC Forbeswood Parklane in celebration of our second wedding anniversary, and I'm here about to spam ya'll with pictures. But first, here's the link to the property: CozyPad in ❤️ of BGC near St.Luke High Speed WiFi

Looking for a well-decorated BGC unit is easy, but when you factor in parking provision, you're not left with much. Luckily we spotted this unit that ticked off all our Airbnb checklist: Nice interiors, free parking, self check-in, and Superhost!

It's newly renovated, which probably explains the smell. It can be a bit stuffy, but nothing opening the windows can fix. My favorite space would be the living room because it's so spacious and I just love how natural light pours into the wide windows. I liked the open living and dining layout, and also the semi-enclosed kitchen.

The bedroom is just right, there's not much space to walk around but since there's a king sized bed in it, can't complain! Bathroom is small though!

I really admire how the place was decorated. The colors are warm and earthy, there's a lot of light, the decor is lovely, and they didn't scrimp on storage space.

So love the palette in this unit!

Thoughtful touches that we appreciated: Big bottles of water, umbrellas we can borrow if it's raining, and slippers!

The unit is centrally located and is walking distance to High Street, Mind Museum, and Forbes Town. There's also a 7-Eleven at the ground floor of the building. Not much in terms of view, unless you enjoy being surrounded by tall buildings, but it's definitely not gloomy, you still get a lot of sunshine coming in, and you can even watch the sunset being reflected by the tall glass building in front haha.

That's it! We definitely enjoyed our stay!

That's my husband looking dapper in the living ❤️

Today

I'm so freaking tired I would've loved to call in sick today but I can't afford to lose anymore sick leaves and I have something important to do at work that I really want to get over with as soon as possible.

Today I attended Activity Builder 1, a three-hour morning session I'm required to fulfill in order to complete my training requirements for Philam Life. Bit of a background, if you may. My parents are both financial advisers, with my dad holding a Unit Manager position. And right now they badly need additional recruits or else they'd be demoted, or something to that effect. Anyway, it's bad. So they convinced me to reinstate my underwriting license so that I could become part of their headcount. The only catch is that I have to attend two full days of training. So okay, two full days alright. They told me I could take the weekend sessions, so fine. I agreed. As a favor.

But now, as it turns, I'm not only required to fulfill two days of mandatory training, but frkn four!!!! PLUS, three more halfday trainings. And the worst part?! There are no weekend sessions (I was only lucky to score one Saturday session). The fck right?!

I wouldn't have cared so much if all I had to do was sit during classes and pretend to listen. But this frkn Activity Builder thingy forced us to really engage, and even make actual calls to prospective clients. Wth. Of course, while my classmates were busy scrolling through their contacts, I was calling all the people I know who are still asleep. So I'd get the excuse that they didn't pick up. Heh.

But you know, the trainings are actually good. They're valuable, and they make it a point to really equip you into making that sale. But it's me eh, my heart's not in it. I'm only in for the attendance. I just want to get over it. I'm not interested in making a sale at all. I'm just doing all this as a favor to my parents.

And earlier this morning I felt really ashamed of myself. Here I am surrounded with people who are passionate about turning underwriting into a sustainable source of income for their families, and I'm taking it all for granted.

But well, I may be half-assed about this whole thing but heck I did pick up some bits of wisdom and rhetoric, in random:

• I learned the importance of goal setting: If you don't know what you want, does it matter what you get?
• It often takes something painful to awaken us
• If you don't have to work for money, what would you really like to do?
• A person without a goal is like a bulb, its light scattered. On the other hand, a person with a goal is like a laser beam, its light focused.

Rrright.